Sack opening and loading device



Aug. 9, 1938. M. R. FRANKENFIELD 2,126,184

SACK OPENING AND LOADING DEVICE Filed Oct. 14, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 9, 1938. M. R. FRANKENFIELD SACK OPENING AND LOADING DEVICE Filed Oct. 14, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 9, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFiCE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for opening and holding paper bags, or the like, while` loading them with heavy bulky products such as potatoes, onions, or the like.

The present invention is an improvement on the device shown in my Patent No. 1,998,191, issued April 16, 1935.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide mechanism in a device of the character shown in my above patent, which will automatically open the upper ends of the bags when the hinged superposed hopper is swung down into operative position.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for holding the spreader-members, which open the bags, in their extended position while the hopper is swung upwardly and backwardly until the spreader-members are substantially clear of the bags. This feature avoids injury to products, such as potatoes, which would otherwise be scraped by the spreader-members if they were returned to their contracted position while still projecting down into the bags.

In my Patent No. 1,998,191, the spreader-members were operated manually, but in the present invention their movement is entirely automatic and is accomplished through'a mechanism which is driven by a plunger attached to the hopper so as to be reciprocated when the hopper is oscillated.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevational view of the device with the drop-door open, the hopper mem ber tilted back into open position and showing four paper bags disposed within the casing; Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of the same in closed position ready to load the sacks, and the dotted lines indicating the open position of the device whereby the sacks may be removed; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the links which connect the hopper to the iront drop-door; Fig. 4 a rear elevational view of the machine closed, showing the mechanism for automatically operating the spreader-members by means of the hopper connection; and Fig. 5, a broken side elevational view of the automatic mechanism, taken as indicated at line 5 of Fig. 4.

In the embodiment illustrated, A designates a casing provided with a drop-door A', and upstanding partition walls A2; B, an open-bottom hopper hinged to the casing A; C, spreader-V means for opening and holding open the tops of paper sacks during a loading operation; and D,

mechanism for automatically operating the spreader-means through the movement of the hopper B.

'Ihe casing A may be of any suitable construction preferably having angle iron base members l and an open front sheet metal body portion which is normally closed by a drop-door A which is hinged to the front of the casing, as indicated at l. The top portion of the casing is open to receive the hopper member B and the casing proper is shown divided into four compartments by means of sheet metal partitions A2 which are 'spot welded in position and help to reinforce the entire structure.

The hopper B may also be formed of sheet iron, or the like, and preferably has an iron frame 8 to provide strength without greatly increasing the Weight. The hopper is pivotally mounted on the upper rear portion of the casing by means of heavy hinges 9 so that it may be tilted rearwardly and upwardly from the casing A. The lower rear portion of the hopper is rounded, as indicated at I0, so that material poured into the hopper may roll down into paper bags I I disposed in the casing. 'I'he hopper is provided with a front flange I2 adapted to overlap the top of the drop-door A and hold the same in closed position. The hopper is further provided on its lower side with depending brackets I3 in which the spreader-'means C is slidably supported. Downwardly extending arms Il! are rigidly connected to the hopper by means of bolts I5 and are connected to a link member i6 by means of a U-shaped short link I'I. The link il is shown provided with an adjusting screw I 3 adapted to limit the relative movement of the hopper with respect to the link I 6 when the hopper and drop-door are in opened position. The lower end of the link I6 is pivotally connected to the drop-door A', as indicated at I9, and a tension spring 20 urges the door A to its closed position, as shown in Fig. 2. However, the spring 2U is disposed so that when the door A is in-its lowermost position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, it is ineiiective to close the door A. Thus it will be understood that when the hopper B is swung rearwardly, the door A will be swung down into horizontal position to facilitate removal of the loaded bags II from the front of the casing. On the other hand,` when the hopper is swung down into loading posif tion, the door A will be first closed and then the short link I'I will permit the hopper to be swung to its lowermost position with the front Yangle bracket 4l flange overlapping the door and holding it securely in closed position.

The spreader-means C is substantially the same as that shown in my patent mentioned above and comprises a pair of trumpet-like slides 2| and 22 equipped at opposite ends with outwardly extending handles 23 and 24, respectively. As shown in Fig. 1, the slides may be in the form of halfrounds and both of the slides may impale the spreader-members 25. Alternate spreader-members are connected to the slide 2| by means of set screws 2'5, and in like manner the remainder of the spreader-members are rigidly connected to the slide members 2l by means of set screws 21. Thus it will be understood that if partially opened paper bags l I are placed in the compartments formed by the upstanding partition walls A2, the hopper member B with the spreader-members in the retracted position shown in Fig. l, may be swung down into position as shown in Fig. 2, and the tops of the bags may be fully opened by extending the spreader-members 25 by outward movement of the handles 23 and 24. A bushel of potatoes'or other merchandise may be then dumped into the hopper and distributed evenly between the bags in the various compartments without danger of breaking the bags or overloading the same. The hopper may then be tilted back which will swing the door A' forwardly and the loaded bags may be removed easily.

In order to operate the spreader-means C automatically, the mechanism D is provided. A supporting plate 28 is rigidly connected to the back of the casing A and is provided with arcuate slots 23 to guide the lower end of links 30 which are pivotally and swivelly connected to the handles 23 and 24, as indicated at 3l. The connection 3! is in alignment with the center line of the hinges 9 so that movement of the hopper will not interfere with the vertical position of the links 35. A vertically reciprocable bar 32 is slidably mounted on the plate 28 for limited movement'through keepers 33 and 34. Pairs of rear links 35 and front links 36 are pivotally connected to the links 30 by means of guide pivots 31 which project through the arcuate slots 29. The lower ends of the pairs of links 35 and 36 are' pivotally connected to the bar 32 by means of guide pivots 38 which extend through vertical 'slots provided in the supporting plate 23.v Thus it will be understood that regardless of the position to which the hopper and spreader-members are tilted, the spreader-members Ymay beextended by upward movement of the reciproc'able bar 32 and contracted by downward movement of said bar.

In order that the spreader-members will be held contracted until they have been projected well into the partially opened tops of the bags, and in order that the spreader-members will be held extended while they are tilted backfout of the bags with the hopper, a special double-acting spring latch is provided, and a yielding driving connection is provided between the hopper B and the reciprocable bar 32. Referring to the driving connection rst, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a plunger 39 is pivotally connected to a bracket 4D fixed to the hopper B. The lower end of the plunger 33 extends through a perforation in an which is rigidly connected to the lower end of the bar 32 by means of a screw 42. A compression spring 43 encircles the plunger 39 and bears against an adjustable collar 44. A tension spring 45 extends between the bracket 4l) von the hopper and a connection on the upper end of the bar 32 so that the bar, in a sense, floats between the opposed action of the two springs.

The double-acting latching device comprises a leaf-shaped spring 45 which is rigidly connected to the bar 32 by means of the screw 42 and is provided at its upper end with a hardened steel block 41 and a spring cross-arm 48 held by a screw 49. When the bar 32 is moved downwardly, the block 41 catches over the sharpened edge 50 of the keeper 33 and prevents downward movement of the bar until the compression in the spring 43 is built up sufficiently to cause the block to slip over the edge and allow downward movement of the bar. This delayed action enables the spreader-members 25 to substantially clear the tops of the bags Il before they are contracted.

On the upward movement of the bar 32, the block 41 engages under the lower edge of the keeper 34 and as the spring 45 does not have suilicient strength to pull it loose, positive release means is provided. The release means comprises a pair of rods 5I which are operatively ccnnected at their lower ends to the plunger 33 by means of a cross-bar 52. The cross-bar is impaled by the plunger between lock-nuts 53. The upper ends of the rods 5I extend through perforations in the keeper 33 and are guided thereby. The rods are provided with rearwardly extending cam faces 54 which, when moved upwardly under the cross-arm 48, are adapted to move the block 41 from under the keeper 34 and permit the bar 32 to slide upwardly under the influence of the spring 45. Thus it will be understood that the positive release means being positively driven by the plunger 39 will always release the slide rod 32 for upward movement at the same time. The rods are timed so that the bar is not released until just before the hopper reaches its lowermost position on the casing.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations Should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. A loading device comprising: an open-top casing having a plurality of upstanding partition walls forming open-top compartments adapted to receive open-top paper bags; an open-bottom hopper hinged to said'ca'singlso as to swing upwardly and rearwardly with respect to said casing; movable means for spreading open the tops of the bags insaid casing; and connecting means for automatically operating said movable'means when the hopper is oscillated.

2. A device as specified in claim l, in which the movable means comprises pairs of laterally movable spreader-members depending from the hopper and adapted to project down into the compartments, and the connecting means is provided with a spring latch adapted to hold the spreader'- members extended until they are swung up substantially out of the bags.

3. A device as specified in claim l, in which the movable means comprises pairs of laterally movable spreader-members depending from the hopper and adapted to project down into the compartments, and the connecting means is provided with a'spring latch adapted to hold the spreader-members contracted until they are moved down into substantially their lowest position.

4. In a device of the character set forth having a casing and hinged loading hopper mechanism for extending the open ends of a series` of paper bags comprising: a pair of reciprocable slides carrying spreader-members adapted to project down into said bags; a vertically reciprocable bar linked to said slides so as to actuate the same; a spring urging said bar upwardly; means for latching said bar in its lower position; and means operable by movement of the hopper for releas-V ing the bar.

5. A device as specified in claim 4, in which the operating mechanism is mounted on the casing, the slides are mounted on the hopper, and links for operatively connecting the mechanism and slides are pivotally and swivelly connected to the slides on the center line of the hopper hinge so as to permit the hopper and slides to swing relative to the casing.

6. A device as specied in claim 4, in which ther hopper makes a yielding lost motion connection with the reciprocable bar.

7. A device as specied in claim 4, in which the operating mechanism is mounted on the casing, the slides are mounted on the hopper, the reciprocable bar has a yielding lost motion connection with the hopper so as to be driven thereby, and said bar is provided with a yielding latch to initially restrain operation of the slides when the bar is urged downwardly by the hopper.

8. A loading device comprising: an open-top casing having a forwardly movable drop--door hinged to the base of said casing; an open-bottom hopper hinged to the top of said casing and linked to said door so as to open therewith; movable means on said hopper for spreading open the tops of the bags; and connecting means for automatically operating said movable means when the hopper and drop-doorare moved.

9. A device as specied in claim 8, in which springs are provided for urging the drop-door to closed position, said springs being disposed so as to be ineiective when the door is fully opened.

MILES R. FRANKENFIELD. 

